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In Italy, rainfall-induced landslides are recurrent phenomena that cause societal and economic damage. Thus, assessing the rainfall conditions responsible for landslides is important and may contribute to reducing risk. The prediction of rainfall-induced landslides relies primarily on empirical rainfall thresholds. However, the thresholds are affected by uncertainties that limit their use in operational warning systems. A source of uncertainty lies in the characterization of the rainfall events responsible for landslides. Objective criteria for the definition of rainfall events are lacking. To overcome the problem, we propose an algorithm that reconstructs the rainfall events, identifies the rainfall conditions that have resulted in landslides, and measures the duration and the cumulated rainfall for the events. The algorithm is independent from the local settings and uses a reduced set of parameters to account for different physical settings and operational conditions. We tested the algorithm in Sicily, Italy, with rainfall and landslide information between January 2002 and December 2012. The rainfall conditions responsible for landslides identified by the algorithm were compared against results obtained manually. The algorithm was proven capable of accurately reconstructing most (87.7 %) of the rainfall events. For each landslide, the algorithm identified a variable number of rainfall conditions responsible for the failures, which are equally likely triggers of the landslide. This opens the possibility of evaluating the uncertainty introduced by different criteria to determine the rainfall events responsible for landslides. Use of the algorithm shall contribute to reducing the uncertainty in the definition of landslide-triggering rainfall events, to compiling large catalogues of rainfall events with landslides and to determining reliable rainfall thresholds for possible landslide occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to test economic benefits of landslide prevention measures vs. post-event emergency actions. To this end, small and large scale analyses were performed in a training area located in the North-Eastern Italian pre-Alps that was hit by an exceptional rainfall event occurred in November 2010. At the small-scale, landslide susceptibility was initially assessed using a simple probabilistic analysis, which allowed to highlight the main landslide conditioning factors and the most hazardous areas. However, this approach revealed to be quite insufficient to reach planned goals, so a large-scale case-by-case analysis was performed: a study case was defined, accord ing to landslide occurrence frequency and assessment of elements at risk. Numerical modeling demonstrated that remedial works carried out after the landslide - waterremoval intervention such as a drainage trench - could have improved slope stability if applied before its occurrence. Then, a cost-benefit analysis was finally employed. It defined that prevention would have been economically convenient compared to a non preventive and passive attitude, allowing a 30%saving relative to total costs. Therefore, this kind of approach could be actually used as a mean toward preventive soil protection not only within the investigated case study, but also in all those hazardous areas where preventive measures are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A critical pluviometric event occurred in the central-eastern Ligurian Riviera, 15 km from Genoa, on 1 June 2007. This event caused landslides and hydraulic problems between Sori and Camogli and in the inland area of the Recco Valley. An analysis of the heavy rainfall was conducted. Hourly precipitation data revealed a critical event between 04:00 a.m. and 07:00 a.m. local time, with more than 220mm of precipitation over three hours. Slope movements were mainly debris flows that detached from the lateral valleys of the Recco Stream catchment and from well-maintained, wooded slopes that were also characterised by cultivated terraces. Numerous slide planes corresponded to the interface between the surface cover and the underlying bedrock, which presents an unfavourable geologic structure in terms of stability assessment. In most cases, the displaced material had a limited thickness. Debris cover was rapidly channelled along small valleys, which controlled the critical hydraulic conditions in the secondary drainage network. Man-made drainage systems were partially or totally blocked in a very short time and, like the natural watercourses, accumulated thick and extensive alluvial fans. Most of the instability phenomena occurred in areas that had been designated medium or low-risk areas during land planning, and in sectors that were defined as stable, because they lacked geomorphic indicators connected to landslide risks. The above considerations highlight some gaps of the Recco Stream Master Plan. Therefore, to update this land planning tool, it is necessary to extensively investigate local geomorphological characteristics and to adopt a different method for assigning weights to the geohazard maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]